Biscuit Hostage Problems
by fat1236
Summary: After a terrifying experience at the supermarket enemies Thea and Draco become best friends and Thea is thrown into a world that she doesn't understand where she is completely powerless. DracoXOC
1. Chapter 1

_Ok, so I just randomly had an idea for this story a few weeks ago. It's probably only going to be a two or three-shot. So, Thea is a muggle (in case you hadn't guessed that by the time you'd finished reading this chapter) and Draco is home for the summer holidays. He's 17 and Thea's 16. Please review wheny our done because it makes me really, really happy. I get the warm glow thingy that people in books get, so...yeah...please do!_

As Thea Brooke entered the supermarket she huffed a breath of annoyance, immediately schooling her expression as a family friend walked in behind her.

"Hi Eve." She said pleasantly.

The woman ignored her and walked forwards, her head swivelling backwards and forwards as she searched for someone.

"Hi Eve." She repeated loudly, frowning as she was blanked.

She huffed again as she picked up a basket, her irritation growing at the woman's rudeness.

"Stupid woman."She muttered, her lips barely moving so people wouldn't think she was crazy. "Stupid sister."

"_What does she want so many biscuits for anyway?" _ She thought furiously.

Thirty minutes previously, Thea's older sister Ruby, had called, demanding that she go to the local supermarket and buy twenty-three packets of Custard Creams.

Thea had only gone to the store on the understanding that she could buy a packet of the biscuits for herself, at her sister's expense.

She sighed and flicked her hair out of her face irritably. She'd walked ten minutes to get here. _Ten minutes. _And she'd have to walk back!

She set of in the direction of the biscuit isle, wondering if she could buy a packet of skittles as well without her sister realising she'd spent her money.

"Hi." A smooth voice said in her ear, tickling her neck and causing her to jump.

She turned quickly, not sure who to expect and hoping it wasn't one of the pervert security-guards who were always watching her, and not because they thought she would shoplift!

"What do you want?" She asked irritably, wrinkling her nose delicately at the sight before her.

It was that infuriating Draco Malfoy. He lived a few streets from Thea, in the huge mansion with the lake and wood in its grounds. She didn't understand why his family lived there, there were only three people in his family, his mother, father and him, and he went away to boarding school during term time anyway, so what was the point in living in that huge house? And as if that wasn't enough, he was incredibly conceited and arrogant, he thought that he was better then everyone in the neighbourhood and showed people that this was what he thought.

"Now, now, Brooke's. No need to get feisty. I was only being courteous." He replied. She could practically see the grease coating his words as he smirked, his face inches from hers as he bowed his head down to intimidate her.

"Urgh." She narrowed her eyes. "You know what?"

He looked at her questioningly.

"You're not that hot." She replied snarkily. She was in no mood for over-confident boys.

"Ouch." He said, his blonde hair falling in his eyes.

Despite there only being one year's difference between the two, they had never got on.

She knew she was lying when she said he wasn't hot so she quickly looked away, turning on the spot quickly to walk away and continue her biscuit-buying. Her floral skirt flared out attractively at the sharpness of her turn and her long hair flicked out, nearly hitting him in the face.

"Says the sexy girl who can't take her eyes of me." He called after her.

She whirled back around. "How dare you degrade me in public!" She said as she stalked back to him menacingly.

"I'm sorry." He smirked. "That was a low blow."

"Not as low as this." She replied, subtly swinging her basket forwards so it hit him gently in the crotch. He clenched his teeth and glowered at her. It obviously wasn't as gently as she'd thought. She tilted her head to one side and smiled angelically, the picture of innocence.

"Why don't you let me make it up to you by carrying your basket?" He asked her, recovered from his moment of pain.

She looked at him strangely. "Huh?" Was her intelligent reply.

"What, was I speaking Parseltongue or something? Give me that." He said with a roll of his eyes, snatching her basket from her hands and starting to walk away.

"You are speaking Parselytongue, because there's no such thing as Parsleytongue!" She told him as she followed him, trying not to look as confused as she felt. "Hi, Ben." She waved at a passing school friend on his way out. He smiled and waved back before giving Draco a dirty look that the older boy missed.

He smirked over his shoulder at her. "So what is it you need?" He asked.

She looked at him strangely for a moment. "Underwear." She replied, slightly sarcastic. "You know...bra's, thong's...the usual..."

"Excellent. I'll help you chose." He said, still smirking at her.

She raised an eye-brow at him. "Wipe that smirk of your face before I do it for you!" She told him before stalking past.

"Oh, come on Thea, I'm sure between us, we can work out some...solution to your evident prejudice to me...."

She turned to face him again. "Us? What us? Do you have a mouse in your pocket?"

"Catty." He said without missing a beat.

"Beware my claws." She said, flashing him her naturally long nails coated in bright pink nail varnish.

He laughed and shook his head slightly before following her down the aisle.

They walked in silence for a few moments until Draco attempted to turn off into the clothing section. Thea grabbed the back of his shirt and yanked him back.

"I don't really need underwear." She told him with a roll of her eyes.

"Well what do you need?" He asked her, his tone slightly annoyed.

"Biscuits. Lots of them." She replied, checking each aisle as they walked past.

"Why?"

"So that I can throw them at you." She responded immediately. "So I can eat them you twit!"

"Again with the sarcasm!" Was the only thing he could think to say.

The two of them flinched as they heard a gunshot, immediately crouching down to the ground.

"Was that a gun?" Thea asked him nervously as several people screamed.

"Yes." He replied shortly. Dumping her basket on the floor he grabbed her wrist and reached in his back pocket for something.

"Damn." He cursed.

"What?" She whispered.

"I forgot my wand." He told her as he dragged her back the way they'd come, towards the entrance.

Now thinking of him as very pervy she decided the gunshot was more important and concentrated on her feet instead as she stumbled slightly in her heels but his pace never relented. Until he stopped completely. Thea skidded to a halt, finishing with her nose inches from his shoulder blade and although scared, she was still angry.

"Everybody to the back of the shop!" Someone yelled out.


	2. Chapter 2

_Ok, so here's the second chapter. It's longer and I hope that you all enjoy it. Pleaseeeee review, it'll make me really, really happy, and we all need a little happiness in our lives._

Thea poked her head out from around Draco. "Eve?" She questioned, causing Draco to put his hand over her mouth before she could draw any more attention to them. Her eyes widened when she saw what was in Eve's hand. It was a gun. Most probably the gun that had given of the shot they'd heard earlier.

She glowered at him but realised her mistake and let it lie.

"Come on. Come on." Eve said as she worried them and several other shoppers along. "Keep moving." She pointed the gun at several people as they didn't move quickly enough and when one man tried to sneak away, she fired at him, only missing his leg by a few inches.

"Get back here!" She screamed at him, and he complied.

Draco kept his hand firmly on her wrist as he pulled her along, keeping her close to his side.

"What are we going to do?" Thea asked him anxiously as they were pushed to the back of the store.

"Try not to get shot." He murmured back.

She couldn't even be bothered to try and find a reply to his lame plan, instead she focused her energy on stopping her heels from making too much noise as they clacked onto the floor.

A woman to her left was crying silently and Thea smiled at her, she knew it wasn't a very convincing smile but it was better than nothing, but the woman didn't even seem to see her.

Eventually they reached the manager's office and Eve told them all too stop, making everyone sit down around the door against the shelves.

"Come on Andy! Open up!" Eve yelled, kicking the manager's door. "I've got a bullet here with your name on it!"

The minutes ticked by in silence and Thea used the time to look at everyone around her, after all, these could be the last people she'd ever see.

Draco sat to her left, and on his other side was an old woman, the woman who'd been crying and a chubby, middle-aged man. To her right sat a good-looking boy who looked about eighteen or nineteen. He turned and gave her a smile that was more of a grimace and she returned the expression. On his other side sat a couple in their twenties, then and old couple, then two more women, a young man in a smart suit and another young man, the one who'd tried to get away. Most of the women looked terrified, whereas while the men were clearly scared; many of them were trying to appear unfazed and manly. Draco included.

"_Great. I'm the youngest here. Which means I stand out."_ Thea jolted slightly, earning a sideways glance from Draco as she realised that being the youngest made her stand out, which for once was not something she wanted to do.

"So, hi everyone." Eve said, startling everyone. "My name's Eve, and I'm really sorry if I'm inconveniencing you in any way, but I found out this morning that my husband has had two affairs and as my first shot missed, I'm kind of relying on you people here to help me keep the police out until I get him." Several people blinked at her as she casually swung the gun around in her hand.

"Oh come on, don't look at me like that. He deserves this! Thirty two years of marriage and he does this too me! Thirty two years I gave that man! Thirty two years of rubbish sex and his smelly feet!" She was getting angry and Thea tried to melt back into the wall and make herself smaller. She hugged her legs to her chest, not caring if she was flashing, there was only Eve to see them.

In front of the hostages was a stack of crisps, while behind them were biscuits and cookies. Eve turned away for a moment and scanned the racks of crisps quickly.

Thea turned to look at Draco. He sat there with one leg bent, his arm resting on it and his head back. He looked completely at ease; relaxed. "How can you be so calm? We could die today!" She whispered to him, shooting Eve furtive glances.

He slowly let his head fall to one side and looked at her. "But we're not going to. I'm too young to die. And so are you." His voice was different, much less arrogant and he didn't drawl his words as he usually did. "Come here." He said to her, letting his leg fall down and opening his arms slightly. He put one hand on her thigh and the other around her shoulders, pulling her across the floor towards him in a side hug.

The normal part of Thea's brain screamed that she hated him and that this was wrong, but they weren't in a normal situation and this could be the last friendly, human contact she'd even feel, so she let him hold her, if only so she could feel safe for a few minutes, because she most certainly did feel safe. His body was warm and hard. She could feel his muscles tightening around her protectively and let herself forget how much she hated him as he made her feel safe like no-one had before.

Eve turned back, a bag of Wotsit's in her hand. "Sorry but I haven't eaten today." She told them all as she tore into the bag.

"Actually it's more than thirty two years of rubbish sex because we went out for two years before that." Eve said to them all, returning to her earlier introductory speech.

"Good grief she's chatty." Draco murmured in Thea's ear, making her giggle and bury her face in his chest to stop Eve from hearing her.

"He's got no rhythm at all, and he does this weird thing with his tongue...Hear that Andy?" She called out, turning to face the door and kicking it again. "I don't like that thing you do with your tongue! Ha! I said it! I don't like it! I never have, and I never will now, because you're a dead man Andy!"

She stuffed a few Wotsit's in her mouth before turning to her captives yet again. "So, while we're here, why don't we all introduce ourselves? You." She pointed at the man who'd tried to escape with her gun. He looked back, blinking rapidly. "Well come on then." She encouraged him after a few moments of silence. "Stand up. Tell us your name, age, a bit about you..."

He stood up slowly. "Erm...my name's Michael, I'm twenty eight and I'm a teacher at a middle school."

"Oh really which one?" Asked Eve conversationally.

"All Saint's."

"You know, I really wanted kids. Really wanted them, but Andy can't have kids. Can you Andy?" She was kicking the door again.

"Ok you." Eve said, pointing now at the man in the suit.

It turned out he was called Joseph and had a wife and child. He was thirty five and worked as a Finance Director. The two women were called Sasha and Emily, the old couple were Howard and Ida, the young couple were Ben and Samantha and the good-looking boy was Adam. As Thea had guessed, he was eighteen, making him older then her and Draco and well within her league. Then it was her turn to stand up.

Her legs shook slightly. She knew Eve, had been round her house several times in fact! But the woman was always in control, not like she was now.

"Hi. I'm Thea, I'm sixteen and it's my summer holiday!" She was hoping Eve wouldn't start talking to her.

"Thea! I didn't recognize you until just not! You've changed your hairstyle!"

"Yeah, I got a bit tired of the centre parting."

"It looks nice! Especially your side fringe, really suits the shape of your face, although you shouldn't have it quite so long, it's almost hiding your eye."

"Yeah...that's the point..."

"But you have such beautiful eyes! If I had eyes like yours then maybe Andy wouldn't have cheated on me!" Her voice rose at the last five words as she turned to look at the manager's office door again.

"So how's your mum? I haven't seen her in about six months!"

"Erm...she's been better..." Thea said uncertainly.

"What's wrong?" Asked Eve.

"Well...I'm being held hostage in our local supermarket...I don't think that she'll be too thrilled when she hears..."

"How inconsiderate this is of Andy! Andy! Young Thea Brokke's is out here and you're upsetting her mother!" She yelled at the door.

Draco used her momentary distraction to pull Thea down safely next to him.

"Ok where were we?" Asked Eve as she turned back to them all. "You."

"I'm Draco, I'm seventeen and I'm on my summer holiday to."

"Mmmm...You're rather good looking aren't you...?" Eve mused as she twirled the gun in her fingers.

Draco sat down quickly and Thea had to turn her head away as she grinned at his clear discomfort.

The chubby man was Ian, the weeping woman was Clara and the old woman turned out to be her mother, Joyce.

"Well, now that we're all acquainted with each other, I'm sure that the next few hours won't be so bad!" Eve told them all.

"Few hours!" Thea gasped. "But I have a dance rehearsal at five!"

"Thea shut up." Draco muttered from the side of his mouth.

"No, you don't understand! It's the All-England-Dance-Festival! I had to compete against loads of other people to get this! I-" She was shut up as Draco put his hand over her mouth.

"Much better." Eve said.

Draco slowly removed his hand and Thea's head drooped down onto her drawn up knees. She knew it was ridiculous to react this way about missing a dance contest when she was currently being held hostage, but she'd worked up to this festival for two years and she had a good chance of winning her category!

An arm went around her shoulders and she thought it was Draco before felling a hand rub soothingly down her left shoulder. She lifted to head to find the good-looking boy, Adam with his arm round her, a sympathetic smile on his face. She attempted to smile back, but gave up and let her eyes close as she dropped her head again.

Unknown to her, a battle of eyes was taking place over her head between Adam and Draco.

Adam's arm slowly retreated from her shoulders and she looked up curiously, wondering if she'd upset him by not being encouraging. He was staring resolutely ahead, his expression stony.

She looked left; Draco was doing exactly the same. She gave a sigh and started fiddling with the hem of her skirt.

"Look, Lady. Why don't you let the three kids and three old people go?" Thea's head whipped around to see who had spoken, her eyes finally settling on Joseph, the man in the smart suit.

A second later and he was screaming in agony. The gun shot had made her flinch, but her horror as she watched the blood seeping through the left arm on his jacket made her feel spaced-out, as though she wasn't there entirely. Her eyes were wide and her mouth had formed a small 'O'. She turned to look at Draco whose face was similar to hers.

Their eyes met and he pulled at her until her face was hidden in his shoulder as Joseph cried out in pain.

"Don't tell me what to do." Eve said calmly, the gun still pointing at him.


	3. Chapter 3

_Ok so here's another chapter, I'm really sorry it's taken me so long to update but I've just started 6__th__ form at a new school and its complete madness! I've only got time to write today because I'm in bed with a cold! (So I apologise if the story's really awful.)I would like to thank my reviewers and ask everyone to either review again, or start! Love you all!_

Something flashed out of the corner of Thea's eye and she watched as Eve was hit on the head with a can of baked beans from the shelf behind Michael.

She fell to the floor, the gun cluttering out of her hand. She lay on the floor, dazed for a moment until she started to struggle back up towards her gun.

Draco launched himself forwards onto her back, holding her to the floor and stopping her moving any further the rest of the group all stared, seemingly dazed by the latest turn of events.

Thea stood up, running as fast as her heels would allow over to the gun. She picked it up quickly, pointing it at Eve, both hands firmly on the gun as she tried to keep it from shaking.

"Ok, Eve." She said to the still wriggling woman. Draco climbed of her and sat back down where he and Thea had been. "This is how it's going to work. You are going to go outside and give yourself up. But first, I think someone else should take this gun of me because I'm not feeling too confident right now..." She said, her voice quavering.

Michael stood up, carefully taking the gun from Thea he pointed it back at Eve.

Thea scarpered back to her seat before her legs gave out on her.

Draco yet again gave her a side hug. "Well done." He whispered in her ear as she took a deep breath. She looked at her hands worriedly, as though scared that they'd look different now that she'd threatened someone.

Eve was standing up slowly, watching Michael intently until she whipped out another gun, pointing it back at him. "Now we're going to do things my way again." She told them all firmly. "Drop it." She told Michael. He hesitated, indecision clear on his face. Eve pointed the gun at Thea who gave a slight gasp and tried to push herself back into the wall.

"Drop it." She yelled. "Or the girl dies." She said in a low, menacing voice. Draco's grip tightened around Thea and he pulled her towards him slightly, bit by bit until she was almost out of Eve's aim.

A gunshot sounded, and milliseconds later so did another. Michael had fired first at Eve, his shot skimming her shoulder. Eve had automatically fired as she heard the gunshot, her bullet thudded into the shelves that had been behind Thea as Draco yanked her towards him until she was behind him, against the shelves and out of harm's way. At the same time, Michael's badly aimed bullet flew into a can of petrol. The speed of the bullet created heat and a spark, making the petrol can explode and causing every other can surrounding it to explode.

Contrary to how it was in films, everything happened quickly, not in slow motion. One second she was against the shelves, the next she was lying on the floor with Draco on top of her. She lay for a moment, dazed. She couldn't breathe properly. Her breath wheezed in and out shallowly as she tried to get her brain to focus.

After a moment of fogginess, she realised she could hear other raggedy breathing nearby.

"Draco?" She rasped before collapsing into a fit of coughing. The dust and smoke was making everything difficult. Sounds were muffled, her sight was bad as her eyes watered, her breathing was restricted and her throat hurt too much to talk.

Her coughing subsided and she tried desperately to swallow and sooth her burning throat.

"Thea?" Came a ragged voice from above her. She opened her eyes quickly, trying to see his face in the gloom. "Are you hurt?"

"I don't think so..." She said, coughing again. "But I can't breathe..."

"What?" He asked, alarmed

"The dust...and you..."

"Oh..." He tried to roll of her, only to discover that on either side of them parts of the roof, walls and shelves had fallen, trapping them in a space that wasn't wide enough for two people.

He shoved something and more debris fell around them.

Thea held her breath as they waited for it to stop.

"Ok, bad idea." He said. Here's the plan, you shift to your left, and I'll shift to my left. As soon as you can, roll on your side, then you can lie on me."

"Ok." She replied.

"Ready...go."

There was a bit of shuffling, but eventually their positions were reversed. Thea was on top of Draco and could breathe much easier. Instead of lying down, they were in a half sitting, half slumped position.

"How long have we been here?" She asked.

"I don't know...I passed out."

"I think I did too."

"God, I really need a drink. Hang on a minute...I think I've got some mints in my pocket..." He said. She felt him move slightly underneath her as his hand searched his pockets. "Here." He croaked, putting what felt to be a Polo in her hand. She sucked on it slowly, grateful as her mouth remoistened slightly.

They could hear scraping sounds above them.

"Do you think that's the building collapsing more or people digging us out?" She asked quietly.

"I like to think it's the second. But we have to be prepared for it being the first."

She put her hand above her head, reaching to find his face.

She found his neck and gently traced her hands up till she reached his chin.

"You said we were too young to die."

His hand clasped hers. "Don't worry. We'll get out of here." He told her quietly.

"I wonder if our parents are up there, waiting for us." Thea thought out loud.

"Mine won't be. They're travelling abroad."

"Oh, well someone from your family will be there."

"I doubt it." He laughed humourlessly. "Maybe my best friend, Blaise will be there. But he doesn't really keep in touch with the real world."

"Why won't someone from your family be there? Are they all abroad?"

"No. Just evil."

"Oh. I know what you mean by that..." She laughed.

He gave a grim smile that she couldn't see. She had no idea, she was far too innocent and pure to understand just how evil people could be.

To distract her, he handed her another mint. "Are you sure you're not hurt?" He checked again.

"No. Though I think my leg might be bleeding. Are you?"

"No. Where?" She guided his hand that she was still holding to her leg. Their fingers glided over her smooth skin for a moment before she let out a hiss of pain and he felt uneven skin. Further down he felt liquid. Blood. "Hmm...well it doesn't seem to be too bad. I think it's just superficial." He told her.

Untangling their fingers, he reached in his pocket again, pulling out an old tissue he dabbed it at her leg.

"Do you have anything else in your pockets?" She asked in an amused tone.

"We'll see when we next need something." He teased.

She gave a small laugh before sighing. "Who would've thought it? Here I am, sitting in Draco Malfoy's lap." She said, more to herself then him.

He chuckled lightly. "Everyone always says near-death experiences change your life."


	4. Chapter 4

_Ok I know I'm a really bad person to have not updated this in so long. It's been, what, 2 months????? Ahhhhhh, I normally don't even let my stories go 2 weeks without being updated and I'm praying you haven't all left me...Anyway, this chapter isn't amazing, I've been really busy with school work and social stuff so writing and having the energy to write has been a problem for me, be grateful you even have this chapter because I'm meant to be revising for a psychology test right now...anyway, I hope you all like this chapter (even though it is rubbish) and I do love reviews, they are, quite sadly, the highlight of my day...I love you all! xxx_

There was silence as the two considered their own private thoughts.

"Draco?"

"Yeah."

"Do you think everyone else is ok?"

"...I'm sure they are." He replied after a pause.

"But...don't you think we'd be able to hear them?"

"What do you mean?" He asked her, playing dumb as he tried to stall his answer, knowing she wouldn't like the real answer.

"Well...surely they would be screaming and crying for help?"

"No...maybe they've all been trapped together on each side of us and, like us, are just talking quietly." He unwillingly lied to her, making up his pathetic lie on the spot.

"Or maybe they don't want to risk making anything else fall!" She piped up.

"Yes...that'll be it." He told her, frowning as she shivered a bit more. "Are you cold?"

"Actually...yes...it's come on really suddenly."

"You're in shock." He told her, wrapping his arms around her firmly.

"I'm not!" She protested indignantly. "And even if I am, why aren't you?!"

"Because...I'm wearing trousers, so I'm warmer..."

"Bullshit! You think I'm weaker then you!" She accused him, wriggling slightly in his grasp.

"No! Not at all...though I think you're more fragile." He said after a moment's hesitation. "You're five ft four and only a size six!"

"I'm a size ten!" She huffed at him. "So there, I'm not as 'fragile' as you think! Not that it's any of your business anyway!" she said, ceasing her wriggling. A moment of silence passed before she spoke again. "I think my legs bleeding again." She said in a small, resentful voice.

He chuckled at her, groping around on the small bit of floor next to them for the disregarded tissue. Finding it he slid his fingers gently up and down her thigh until he found the cut. She shivered more, though not so much from cold now.

She inhaled sharply as he pressed the tissue to her leg. "Why does it bloody well sting so much? It's only a small thing!"

"Small one's always sting the most." He reminded her.

She shivered again as the shock started to envelope her whole body.

"Oh Merlin...we've got to get you warm!" He let go of her and rubbed his hands quickly over her upper arms before wrapping his arms around her again.

She tried not to shiver too much, clenching her muscles and gritting her teeth.

"Who's Merlin?" She asked. "Are you talking about the wizard Merlin?"

He realised his mistake quickly and found his self struggling to think of a lie yet again. "At the boarding school I go to we say Merlin."

"_Great lie Draco."_

She didn't reply and silence settled between the two again, before, "What did you first think of me when you met me?" She asked suddenly.

Above her head, his eyes widened in alarm. "Erm...why do you want to know?"

"Because. The first time we met you told me that you had an owl as a pet and that my skirt reminded you of your curtains!"

"I have very nice curtains!"

She snorted at this. "It was an insult!"

"Well...maybe I was doing that thing where you're horrible to the person you like...or something...Don't kids do that?"

"Yeah but they normally call you names and push you over instead."

"Would you have preferred that?"

She paused, "No. Ok, point proven."

"To be honest Thea, I can't remember much about the first time I saw you. I've seen you so many times since then that all I can remember is your velvet green dress, just like my curtains, you're hair was longer, and darker, more black then brown and you had a matching green ribbon in it. You were outside with three other kids, I can't remember anything about them, and when you saw me, you ran over and said hi. Just like that." He finally finished, smiling as he remembered how friendly she had been to him before he was rude to her.

"So...you basically remember everything about it..." She drawled with a smirk that he couldn't see.

"Just certain things." He remained obstinate as he realised that he did basically remember everything about her, including the fact that in his own, childish way he had found her pretty. He knew now that pretty wasn't the right word for her.

"So what did you think of me when you first saw me?"

"I thought you were a rude, arrogant tosser." She replied automatically.

"Hmm....that's not good....I thought that was your opinion of me now, not when I was nine years old..."

"Oh fine." She huffed. "Well...at first I thought you looked nice in your jeans and black top with your really pale blonde hair, what is up with that? Anyway, I ran over thinking you might need a friend since you were new and you smiled when I said hi and told me that your pet was an owl and my dress looked like your curtains!"

"It was a compliment!" He reminded her.

She laughed a bit, "I don't have that dress anymore."

"Damn! There's a hole in my curtains, I was wondering if I could have it to fill it in." He joked as they both laughed.


	5. Chapter 5

_Wow I am a terrible person! I just realised I haven't updated this fanfic in like a year! I would like to apologise and make my excuses...as always I've been busy with school work and shizzle and I've been focusing more on my Narnia fanfictions (check them out!) but here's a neeeew chapter! Please review because it makes me happy and it'll probably help me to remember to update again very soon! _

"How long do you think we've been down here?" Thea asked, swallowing drily and resting her head back against Draco's chest.

"I don't know. Maybe half an hour? It depends how long we were unconscious." Draco tightened his arms around Thea for a brief moment as he stretched his back and legs before relaxing again. "Are you still cold?"

"No. I'm fine. Just very thirsty."

"Well...as much as I love talking to you, perhaps we should keep quiet and save our throats."

Thea grunted her reply and closed her eyes. Apart from her difficulty breathing through all of the dust and her dry throat, she was relatively comfortable. She was warm with Draco's arms around her and he made a warm pillow made of solid softness.

"I hope you're not going to sleep..." Draco suddenly said.

"Why not?" She grumbled.

"Because you're supposed to stay awake after these kind of things. If you go to sleep you could die!"

"Thanks for that." She said sarcastically, frowning in the darkness. "Fine then, we better talk if we don't want to go to sleep."

"Ok." A long silence ensued as they both tried to think of something to talk about.

"Well say something then!" She said, glad to break the silence even if it was only to tell him to talk.

"What should I say?"

"Tell me we're going to be ok. Tell me we're going to get out of here alive and everyone else is fine."

"Well we certainly won't starve to death in a supermarket." He joked.

"Be serious Draco..."

He gave a sigh and began to absentmindedly trace circles with his index finger on her arm. "We'll be fine. If we've been here roughly an hour then the emergency services will already have been here for ages. In another half hour or so they'll have dug us out and we can go back to our lives."

Thea made a noise in her throat that indicated him to go on but the dust stuck in her throat and she collapsed into a coughing fit, unable to stop with more dust clogging up her throat and no liquid to clear it. Draco loosened his hold on her, unsure of what to do as her fit carried on. After a few minutes he rubbed circles on her back as though she was a baby and after a few more agonising moments her coughing subsided to gasps for air.

"Oh, Christ." She said hoarsely, giving a few more coughs as she spoke. She wiped away the tears that had formed in her eyes and gratefully accepted the polo Draco carefully placed in her hand.

"Alright now?" He asked worriedly. Thea simply rested herself back against him and nodded, hoping he'd feel it on his chest. He put his arms back around her and she closed her eyes tiredly, exhausted by the fit that had wracked her body.

"Tell me about you." She whispered after a few moments.

"You already know a lot about me." He replied gently.

"Tell me something real. Not superficial."

"Alright...I hate my life. I have a big house and loving parents, but they don't understand me. I have to go into the family business, I can't make my own future, have my own life..."

"Thea was about to reply when a grating sound to their right made her eyes snap open again and she felt the air over her hair as Draco whipped his head around to see what was happening; fearful that more of the building was collapsing around them.

Bright light and a wave of noise hit the two, causing them to squint and grimace at the sudden onslaught to their senses.

"Hey, guys! I've got somebody!" Someone yelled excitedly from nearby. The noise increased as everyone gathered turned to look at the visible Draco and Thea and more lights flashed as cameras clicked and spotlights were turned on them.

"Are you ok?" The same voice asked much more quietly.

Neither Draco or Thea replied as both tried to come to grips with the latest turn of events and see clearly. Suddenly Draco understood what was going on and shook Thea in his arms.

"We're out! We're safe!" He said happily as she craned her neck to look up at him and he beamed down at her. Finally understanding she allowed the man outside, whom she could now see to be a fireman, to help her out of their tiny cage and pull her up. He hung onto her, helping her stumble across the rubble of the supermarket towards the huge crowd of noise and wide eyes. Draco was helped up by another fireman but shook off his help after a muttered thanks and followed Thea with his head down.

He heard her give a cry and she ran the short distance to the front of the crowd, hugging her mother, then her father and then her sobbing sister as a T.V camera did a semi-circle around the overjoyed family, recording and broadcasting to the world an intimate and touching moment.

"Draco!" He heard a voice call out. Just as he had hoped, Blaise Zabini was standing a few feet from Thea and her family. Draco smiled and gave him a manly hug and thumped his best friend on the back as the camera now focused on him. As soon as they broke apart he looked for Thea again. The younger girl was watching him and he could see in the light that she was completely covered in dust. Her hair was a lighter brown and her eyes looked twice as large in her ashen face. As they locked eyes she ran over to him, opening her arms as he opened his and embracing him. He was so tall that she stood on her tip toes while he stooped down as they rocked from side to side slightly, holding on tightly.

This time Draco didn't notice the camera focused on them.


	6. Chapter 6

_Ooooook so this is my idea of a long chapter...it's my apology for once again making you all wait so long for an update! I'm afraid that I'm not feeling particularly inspired with this story... but I'm sure it'll come to me in time! Thank you to everyone who reviewed last time, please do so again and anyone who isn't...DO IT! Enjoy!_

"I'm just popping next door." Thea called out to her mother as she opened the backdoor.

"Be careful!" Her mum immediately called back, rushing into the kitchen after her daughter worriedly.

Thea rolled her eyes at her mum's alarm. "Mum! I'll be fine! I'm just going over to Draco's house!"

"Who's Draco?" Her mother immediately asked suspiciously.

"Draco Malfoy...the boy from the mansion?" Thea couldn't believe her mother didn't know one of their neighbours after 10 years of living next to them.

"Oh...is he back from his school?"

"Clearly!" Thea exclaimed, "else I wouldn't be going to his house!"

"But I thought you didn't like him?"

"Mum, we were threatened at gun point and spent hours trapped in a collapsed supermarket together. There are some things you go through that force you to make friends with people.." She explained before sighing at her mum's upset expression at the thought of what'd happened yesterday and giving her a hug. "I'll be fine! If I'm not back in 2 hours, you can call the police. Ok?" Thea asked with a laugh.

She gave her mum and hug and hurried out of the house, grabbing her bag as she went.

Weak sunlight gave a small source of heat and the pavement was dark with leftover rain water from during the night.

Thea stopped to have a short conversation with the neighbours from four doors down and reassured them that she was fine and had fully recovered from her ordeal before moving on.

A few young children were playing further down the street and she kicked their football back over to them as one young girl accidently kicked it in completely the wrong direction.

She took a shortcut down a dark alleyway and found herself on the road that led only to Draco's mansion. She'd never been in it before and wondered if he'd even let her in now. The sunlight had been feeble to start with but as she entered the hedge-rimmed driveway gloom closed in around her, making her shiver in her thin dress and cardigan. She constantly looked left and right, thoroughly convinced someone was watching her.

The mansion was magnificent; made of white stone it shone in an eerie way through the complexly decorated iron gates. Corinthian style columns ran around the edge of the house, creating a long porch with matching balconies on all 4 levels. The garden was organised on either side of the driveway with trimmed bushes and tall flowers of exotic colours.

Thea concentrated on the house again and felt her step falter as she realised that Draco was standing behind the gate, a few feet away. She hadn't noticed her before or heard his feet crunching on the gravel but she crushed her questions when he smiled at her and heaved open one side of the huge gate.

"Thea." He greeted; his welcome full of genuine warmth.

"Hi." She replied with a smile of her own, slipping through the gap he'd created for her. "How are you today?"

"I'm ok, just tired. How about you?"

"Fine. I had a sore throat this morning but the paramedics told me to expect that." She replied as he led her up the remaining 100 metres of driveway to the house.

The two talked some more about the events of the previous day with Draco leading Thea straight up the front steps and through the impressive double front doors. The inside was carved from marble with two staircases starting at the end of the first section of the hall and twisting back on themselves as they wound up to the second level.

Thea gaped at the grandness of her surroundings and completely lost track of what Draco was saying as she slowly looked around herself, taking in the giant, glittering chandelier, the gold-framed portraits which were so lifelike they almost seemed to move for a moment but Thea was too busy moving on to the next display of wealth to stop and stare at any one thing in particular.

"It's amazing!" She whispered quietly to the grinning Draco who preferred to look at Thea's face to any of the grandness around him.

Despite its splendour there was a darkness in the place, something that hung miserably in the air around them, taking away some of the breathtaking effect the interior had.

"You'll get used to it." He replied, snapping Thea out of her reverie as she realised that he intended to spend a lot more time with her. She grinned at him and let him lead her down the first section of the hall, and then the second until they reached the living room with plush leather sofas.

"Where's the T.V?" She asked in wonder; unable to believe that someone so rich had a mansion with no T.V.

"We don't have one; my dad hates them."

"Where are your parents?" Thea asked as she began to investigate the room.

"Abroad. They'll be back in about a month." He said, jumping onto a sofa as Thea whirled around to look at him.

"Seriously? They just left you for a month?"

"Three, actually." He replied with a crooked smile.

Thea turned away again and shook her head in disbelief. "What's this stuff?" She asked, dipping her finger in a fine blue dust. "Is it sherbet?" She stuck out her tongue, ready to lick it when Draco rushed to her and pushed her arm away from her mouth.

"Don't eat it!" He exclaimed in horror. "It's not sherbet, it's...chalk!" Thea squinted up at him. He was definitely lying.

"Why do you have chalk by your fireplace?"

"It...helps the fire keep going." He replied haltingly as he sat back on the sofa.

Thea rolled her eyes at him; as much as she wanted to explore the rest of his house she felt rude asking to look around. And his house was weird.

"Shall we go get a coffee?" She finally asked.

"Sure." He replied, jumping back up off the sofa. "Lead the way..."

"Eurgh! What is this?" He asked, looking into his full coffee cup with horror.

"It's...coffee..." Thea replied with a laugh.

"It's vile." He replied, pushing it away childishly. Thea stopped smiling as she realised he was serious.

"Have you never had coffee?" She asked with a frown. Draco shook his head and Thea's eyes widened.

"Where've you been all this time? How could you have never tried coffee?" She exclaimed in horror.

Draco remained silent, staring down at the table in front of him.

"Where...where do you go to school?" Thea asked haltingly as she realised that nothing about him fitted.

"I can't tell you." He muttered, starting to shred a napkin between his long fingers.

Thea desperately wanted to pry more but their friendship was not yet at the stage where she could do so; to push too hard would destroy what they'd already built. Draco kept glancing out of the large window to one side of them nervously; he was either uncomfortable in Thea's company in public or looking out for someone.

"Well, I bet you'll like this better." Thea said, catching the eye of a passing waitress.

"Two hot chocolates please."

"I like chocolate." Draco said, suddenly perking up and adjusting his position so that he no longer slouched like a sulky child.

The waitress laughed at him. "We all do." She said as she wrote the order down.

"With marshmallows and cream please." Thea added. "So, what country are your parents in?"

"Japan. Part of my father's business is out there and they're keeping an eye on it."

"What kind of business does he run?" She asked as the waitress started to make her way over with their new drinks.

"Manufacturing, stocks and shares and he invented some stuff..." Draco said flippantly, looking out of the window yet again.

"What stuff?"

"This is good stuff!" Draco suddenly exclaimed, looking at the hot chocolate in wonder. Thea laughed and to her astonishment he downed the drink.

"Was...was it not too hot to drink...?" Thea asked incredulously as steam still rose from hers.

"No. It was fine. I think I'll have another!" He declared, whipping his head around in his search for a waitress.

Thea laughed again and ate one of the marshmallows he'd left at the side of the saucer before catching sight of the large clock to her left.

"Actually Draco you can have mine. I have to leave now; I told my mum I'd only be 2 hours and she's a bit paranoid since last week's events..."

Draco downed her drink as well as Thea shrugged on her cardigan and shook her head at his behaviour.

"I'll pay." He said, already on his feet.

"Oh no, It's ok I'll-"

"I'm the only one who drunk anything!" He said over his shoulder, which Thea had to acknowledge to be the truth.

Having tucked in her chair Thea joined Draco at the till just in time to see him hand over a £50 note. Her eyes widened in amazement; she'd never actually seen a £50 note and it was unusual for someone who wasn't a foreign tourist to carry such a large note.

The waitress serving them also seemed a bit confused as to what to do with it; she dithered for a moment before putting taking out all of the £20 notes and putting the £50 at the bottom of that slot with the £20 notes on top of it.

Draco collected his change and the two hurried back to their street.


	7. Chapter 7

_Once again I've managed to do a super-long chapter by my standards. I hope you all like it, thank you to everyone who reviews the last chapter, and as always please review! Enjoy!_

"Hey, so um, I'm going to this party tonight at a friend's house…do you want to come?" Thea asked suddenly.

"Sure." Draco replied with a smile. He loved parties. "What kind of party is it?"

"Oh, you know; the usual kind…" Thea trailed off as she realised Draco had no idea what kind of party it would be. "The kind where you get drunk with friends, dance a bit, socialise…and then either stagger home drunk or collapse unconscious somewhere on the floor…"

Draco turned to look at her, his eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "What kind of party is that? It sounds awful!" He exclaimed, wrinkling his nose just at the thought.

"It's really not! It's fun, so long as you don't get so drunk you puke everywhere…that's when it stops being fun…"

Draco's face was a picture and Thea could not hold back a giggle before she composed herself.

"Well, Sarah's house is only a 10 minute walk across town, so I'll stop by yours at 9?"

"9? That's so late for a party to start!"

"Well, no….the party starts at 7 but it'll be a bit awkward for a few hours till people start getting drunk…trust me, it's best to be late." Thea said with a smile as they reached her house. "I'll see you later!" She waved as she disappeared through the back gate of her house, still smiling.

"You look nice." Thea jumped as Draco spoke from the other side of the gate. Yet again she had not heard him approaching. Thea looked down at herself and could not help smiling. She was in a short, tight blue and white dress, but she'd left flat ballet pumps on her feet to prevent herself from looking too dressed up. These were standard house-party clothes for Thea. She had a black bag slung over her shoulder with a large bottle of vodka and half a bottle of left over Malibu in it from a previous party. She'd packed for two because she'd had the foresight to realise that she had not warned Draco it was a 'bring-your-own-booze' party, and he was unlikely to think of it himself.

She smiled up at Draco and peered hard at him as he opened his gate and stepped out to join her. She realised in horror that he was wearing black trousers and a shirt and tie. Thea practically screamed and pushed him back through the gate ahead of her hurriedly.

"What..What is it?" Draco asked in concern as the gate shut behind them.

"We have to get you changed." Thea muttered, straining to push a protesting Draco back up the path to his house. "What were you thinking?" She demanded, ignoring his arguments that he looked smart and respectable.

"Where's your room?" She asked, looking up from staircase to staircase as she wondered which one to take.

"I'll show you." Draco finally said, choosing the staircase on their left and leading Thea across the marble floor.

The upstairs was just as grand as Thea had imagined it; a corridor linked the two staircases so that no matter which one you went up you ended in the same place. Draco led Thea down the left corridor and instantly round a corner. Thea gaped as she was exposed to a long corridor of seemingly endless black doors. The carpet below their feet was a soft, deep green velvet and the walls were covered in wallpaper of the same colour and was embossed with silver fur at different intervals. Thea inspected it through narrowed eyes as they quickly walked past several doors and realised it had another pattern of a slightly darker green on it as well, weaving around each separate embossment.

They'd passed four doors now and Draco opened the fifth door on the right, revealing a large room that was the entire size of the ground floor of Thea's house (which was hardly small). The room was colour co-ordinated with greens, silvers, blacks and cream.

Draco held the door open for her, already starting to take off his tie and Thea stepped in slowly, looking all around in wonder as she took in the four poster bed in the centre of one wall, the long desk in a corner, the two large wardrobes and the en-suite that she could see through the open door to her left.

She headed straight for one of the wardrobes but Draco quickly steered her to the other one. "Not that one; this one. That wardrobe's just full off clothes that are too small and junk.."

Thea highly doubted that there was junk anywhere in Draco's house, but she accepted it soundlessly and selected a pair of jeans and an ordinary casual top for him to change into.

She hoped fervently that he'd go into his en-suite to change so that she could quickly investigate what was really in the second wardrobe, but instead he took his shirt off in front of her. Thea was surprised to discover he was so muscled; she had been able to tell that he was lean when they had been trapped underneath the rubble of the supermarket together and she'd leant back into his chest, but she'd never realised it was all quite so developed.

She'd seen boys topless before; even naked when they all got too drunk, but this was different. She turned away and looked out of the window awkwardly instead. She'd never thought of Draco as actually physically fit. You cannot deny sexual attraction when it is there; and it was there, but she'd been able to quell it so far. She'd noticed he was good looking the moment she'd turned thirteen, and he'd turned out to be a tall boy at about 6ft 2, but she'd never wondered even for a moment what was underneath his clothes.

"Ok." Draco said behind her and Thea turned quickly, almost expecting him to still be half clothed.

"Better." She said with a half smile as he threw his clothes from before on his immaculate bed.

Bending down she picked out a pair of trainers to complete his look and the two set off for the party.

"Hey, everyone, this is Draco. He was in the supermarket with me and lives in the huge house on my lane." Thea told her circle of friends as they rushed to hug and greet her when Thea and Draco walked into the party.

Her friends eyed Draco warily as he forced a smile. A few of the drunk ones practically fell over themselves as they tried to greet him and Thea could not help noticing Alice and Emilie eyeing Draco up and down with appreciation.

Thea bristled slightly at their stares, unwilling to lose Draco to either girl when they were both so completely wrong for him. "Come over here, Draco." She said with a smile just as forced as his as she pulled him away from the assessing eyes of Alice and Emilie.

A girl crashed into Thea with a high-pitched squeal that Draco just managed to make out as Thea's name. Thea hugged the girl back and automatically pulled him closer.

"Draco, this is my best friend Sophie!"

Sophie eyed him up and down and said hello with a slightly surprised smile.

"I recognise you! Where do I recognise you from..?" Sophie suddenly said, speaking to herself far more than Draco as she narrowed her eyes at him.

"I live near Thea." He said shortly, as a drunk girl barrelled into him.

"In the big house." Thea shouted in Sophie's ear as someone turned up the music.

Sophie made an understanding noise as she finally placed Draco's face in her mind. "Let's go in the kitchen!" She yelled, pointing Draco back the way they'd come as he led the way.

"I thought you didn't like him!" Sophie yelled in Thea's ear as soon as Draco's back was turned as they fought their way through.

"Change of heart." Thea said shortly, shoving her way through a throng of people with a few shouted apologies.

Draco was waiting for them on the other side of a huge cluster of people. He didn't see her at first; he was standing on his tiptoes and craning his neck to see as far as possible, a lost and unhappy look on his face. Thea forced a smile so that when he finally saw her he too smiled, though with relief rather than happiness.

Thea took the lead now, fighting their way into the slightly emptier kitchen.

"Actually." Thea said suddenly, stopping as she seriously thought about the situation. She turned around to look at Draco and searchingly looked him in the eyes for a few moments before leaning around him and shouting to Sophie. "Sophie, I'll see you tomorrow. We're leaving." She looked away before Sophie could protest and pulled Draco towards the door now. "Come on, I know somewhere better." She said with a smile.

"Where are we going?" Draco asked as the front door shut loudly behind them.

"To the park."

"The park? Why are we going to the park?" Draco demanded, taking long strides to keep up with Thea's fast pace.

"Because that party was rubbish. The park's much better!" She exclaimed, checking the road was clear before trotting across it.

Thea didn't regret leaving the party; she may love parties but she'd seen the look in Draco's eyes. He didn't belong in that kind of environment.

"What are we going to do at the park?" Draco was still demanding answers.

"Have fun of course! Here we are..." She veered off the path and pushed her way through a small hole in a hedge. After a moment of searching blindly for the hole in the darkness, Draco followed her.

"I never even knew there was a park here..." He said in awe as he took in the setting.

Swings, a slide, a climbing frame, a basketball court and a roundabout were all surrounded by benches on two sides. The rest of the large park was nothing but an expanse of grass surrounded by trees and bushes.

"Hey, Thea!" Someone called out and Draco squinted in the scanty light the street lamps provided. A small group of people in dark clothing were all loitering by the swings, their faces occasionally illuminated by the light from their mobile phones or the flame of a lighter as a cigarette was lit.

"Hey." Thea called out, walking over to them. Draco had no other option than to follow her, simply wishing that the night would end. "How are you, Phil? Oh, hi, Kelly!" She exchanged small talk with the group of four for a few moments before casually dropping into the conversation that she and Draco had just come from a party down the road. One of them immediately demanded to know where the party was and why they'd left so early.

"It was so boring!" Thea exclaimed. "Honestly, someone needs to liven it up in there...it's Sarah Young's house...you know the one?"

"Yeah." The one who seemed to be the ringleader affirmed. All four of them spoke strangely; they only pronounced half of their words and Draco knew they were the stupid kind who'd dropped out of school. The kind who gate-crashed parties. "Come on you lot. See you around!" He called over his shoulder to Thea who waved in response as she sat down on his vacated swing. After a pause Draco sat down on the one next to her, gently pushing himself backwards and forwards with his long legs.

Thea handed him a bottle of clear liquid from her bag and took out her iPhone, putting some music on quietly. Draco tried not to stare too much at the miraculous thing; unable to understand how one thing could do so much.

He took a swig of the clear liquid and forced himself not to spit it back out. "Eurgh. What is that?" He asked, grimacing at the taste and wiping his hand over his tongue in an attempt to get rid of it.

Thea laughed and handed him the other bottle. "That's vodka. Have some of this now, its Malibu and its lovely. It'll get rid of the taste!" She added when she saw his reluctance to drink anything else she offered him.

He took a small sip, grateful of the coconutty flavour.

Thea took the vodka from him and took two large swallows before changing the song on her iPhone.

"How can you just drink that?" Draco asked in disgust as he practically hugged the Malibu to himself.

"Practise." Thea replied shortly, holding back a laugh. "Have some more, and then use the Malibu to get rid of the taste!"

"No thanks!" He exclaimed, actually hugging the bottle now.

"The vodka gets you drunk faster." Thea told him shortly, taking another swig.

"What is this obsession with getting drunk?" Draco demanded.

Thea looked at him before sighing and running her hand through her hair. "You've never been drunk, have you?" She finally asked, sounding almost tired.

"Yes I have!" Draco protested, hoping she couldn't see his face reddening in the dim light. He'd never been_ drunk. _Only tipsy...

"Right, another thing to add to my to-do list. Thank God I brought this alcohol with me tonight! There's an obsession with getting drunk because it's fun! Everything's much simpler when you're drunk; you don't care what people think of you, life's more fun..everything's just better!"

Draco sighed in defeat and took a swig of the vodka, downing Malibu to take the taste away before he'd even swallowed the clear fluid.

Both could already feel the alcohol taking effect; the internal heat that it left behind made them warm on the outside and Thea changed the song yet again to something techno, something they could dance to. She stood up and started to dance happily as her cares washed away.

"What are you doing?" Draco asked curiously.

"Dancing." She replied, laughing at the obvious answer. "You do it."

"Oh, no...I don't really dance..." Draco said, leaning back in his swing in horror.

"You'll dance soon. Have some more vodka." Thea retorted, holding her hair off her face.

Draco did so and within ten minutes they were both twirling round and round, shouting in glee as the streetlights outside the park blurred around them.


	8. Chapter 8

_Right, so I'm updating after less than a month which is pretty good for me! Thank you to everyone who reviewed the last chapter and for sticking by me...as always, please review...Enjoy!_

The mansions visitor alarm sounded briefly and Draco ran eagerly to the window with hope on his face. He hadn't seen Thea in five days because she'd been at her dad's house and had greatly missed her company. It'd been 2 months since the incident at the supermarket and there'd barely been a day that he didn't see her. Thea had started school again the previous week but came round after school to see him, often just sitting with him in silence as she did her homework.

The driveway was too far away to show the path, but the window had been enchanted and Draco saw the image of her running along the driveway in it. He grinned happily and apparated a few feet to the left of the gate, out of sight of the approaching muggle.

As a Malfoy, he was one of the few who could manually open the gate through the enchantments and he opened one side of the gate and opened his arms wide in greeting of the still running Thea.

When she was but a few inches from him, he realised something was horribly wrong.

She threw herself into his chest with a sob and as a reflex he closed his arms and hugged her, unsure of what to do next for he'd never comforted a crying girl.

She pulled away from him with a great gasp, followed by more sobbing as she ran her shaking hands over her face. She stopped and tried to speak but was unable and instead dissolved again into tears, hiding her face from Draco.

Putting an arm around her he dragged her through the gates and they started the long walk to the mansion. Thea was constantly stumbling; unable to focus on where she was going through her tears.

They finally reached the mansion and Draco guided her through the front door and into the living room, his eyes wide at the strange situation.

"What? What is it?" He asked, grasping one of her wrists in each hand in an attempt to stop her hiding her face. Her minimal make-up had run and the remainder had stuck her wet eyelashes together. "What is it?" He demanded again, almost scared to know what had made Thea react this way.

"My mum." She choked out, trying to gasp in more air as she spoke. "It's my mum. She's been having an affair." She sobbed more as she revealed the secret that had torn her family apart only minutes ago. "With Owen!" Unable to bear it she wrenched her wrists from his grasp and hid her face in her hands once again, curling up like a small child in her anguish.

Draco pulled her against him and hugged her silently. He didn't know what to say; he had no personal experience of the situation Thea was in and so was too afraid to speak for fear he would say the wrong thing and isolate her more.

After a few minutes of tears Thea was able to compose herself enough to face Draco and do little more than hiccup as her eyes still leaked a few stray tears every minute or so.

Drcao left the room momentarily and accioed a tissue to his hand once out of her sight before returning and giving it to her silently.

"I don't know what to do." Thea whispered once she'd dried her cheeks. "I can't go back; I can't trust my mum. She cheated on my dad, and so he left her, now we find out she's been cheating on my step-dad for 2 years with Owen, and now he's left her. I can't live in the house; just me, my sister and her." Thea said, staring blankly out of the window, almost speaking o herself.

"What am I going to do?" She sobbed, her lip quivering as more tears began to fall.

"Why can't you go back?" Draco asked quietly after a pause, feeling guilty that he'd never even realised Thea's dad didn't live with them.

"She ruins everything. Paul was a wonderful, stable person in my life and now he's left. All my life she's preached to me about not marrying unless you know it's love, about how marriage is one of the most serious things in the world, and now she's gone back on everything she's said; twice! And to do it with Owen...it's disgusting!" She shot out angrily, scrunching the tissue up in her hand and staring back out of the window.

"Who's Owen?" Draco finally asked in confusion.

"Owen's my friend from school; he's 17 and in the year above, which means that my mum's been having sex with him since he was 15. She broke the law." Thea said quietly, the anger in her voice disappearing to be replaced by a voice lacking emotion.

Draco's mouth opened in an 'O' of surprise and he remained silent, thinking of anything he could say that would make Thea feel better.

"Can you stay with your dad?"

Thea immediately shook her head hard. "I only see him once every 2 months. And even then I hardly see him because he's at work...I barely know him."

"What about your step-dad?"

"He's my step-dad. There's no blood." She said shortly.

"Well, if you want, you could stay here tonight." He said hesitantly, waiting for Thea to shoot him down.

Her eyes snapped to his in an instant. "What? Really?"

"Yeah, you can stay here as long as you need." He said, giving her a crooked smile.

"It's kind of you, Draco, but don't say that. I think it's going to be a while until I can sort myself out with a flat." Thea said with a sigh, going back to looking out of the window.

"I mean it. 6 months, a year, 2 years! Come and live with me!" His eyes were bright with excitement.

"No," Thea said, reluctantly after a few heartbeats of silence.

"I can't, Draco, You'll be fed up of me in a few months and I don't want to be a burden to you!" She said honestly.

"I promise to kick you out if you annoy me." He said sincerely. Thea gave a small smile and he took it as an invitation to continue. "Please do; it gets pretty lonely here all by myself."

"What about your parents? Aren't they due back soon?"

Draco shook his head as he thought of an excuse. He could not tell her that they were too hated in his world to ever return to England. "My mother loved Tokyo so much that they've bought a place and are living out there. I had the option to join them but I chose not to." He said. It was partly true. "So, this house in now mine forever." He said with a smile.

Thea could not help smiling too. "Wow, it must be fun to be rich." She said. Draco looked at her sharply, expecting her to be being sarcastic but to his surprise she was completely serious.

"It has its perks."

"So, how much do you want for rent each week?"

"What's rent?" Draco asked blankly.

Thea stared hard at him before deciding he was being serious and had spent the last 17 years in a magic bubble. "It's a sum of money I pay you every week that goes towards food, water and electricity bills..."

"Oh, I don't need any money!" Draco said, actually moving backwards across the sofa away from her.

"What? I have to pay you! I mean...I should still get some child support money from my dad, and I get money in my dance competitions and I could get a part time job-"

"I don't need your money." Draco cut in. "Look; I live in a mansion! I don't need any money from you!" Draco said with a smile.

"I need to pay you!" Thea insisted.

"Look...I don't have a lot of friends and it means a lot to me that you actually genuinely want to hang around with me. So that is your payment. You have to spend time with me!"

Thea looked as though she wanted to argue for a moment but she finally just shook her head and smiled. "Whatever you say, Draco. But just so you know...I'll bring this up again in about a week and I'll have a load of well-thought-out arguments for it!"

"I look forward to it."

"Ok, well, what are we going to do about tonight?"

"Shall we go get your stuff?"

Thea shook her head. "No, can we get it tomorrow once my mum's gone to work?"

Draco nodded and stood up, holding out his hand to help Thea up. "Let's go into town and get some food and essentials for tonight."

"Oh, no, but my face." Thea groaned as he pulled her up. "I look awful!" Draco rolled his eyes and went through the doorway anyway, just waiting for Thea to follow him.

She did so with a sigh and a pout at him, already feeling much better and more composed.

"Thanks, Draco." She said, looking him in the eye as he held the front door open for her. He smiled in reply. He knew she meant so much more.


	9. Chapter 9

_Ok so this update is a month after the last one, which is pretty good for me! And as an extra plus, this chapter is fairly long and full of action! Thank you to everyone who reviewed last time, please do it again! Enjoy!_

"I still can't believe you just bought a T.V!" Thea exclaimed incredulously, shaking her head.

"I still can't believe you knew the number of an installer..." Draco replied, cautiously inspecting a piece of toffee popcorn before taking a tiny bite of it.

"Have you never had popcorn before?" Thea asked, watching him intently.

He shook his head and she simply shook her own slowly, gradually becoming used to the lack of things Draco had done.

She checked the time on her iPhone before throwing it down on the patch of quilt that la between them on the sofa and settled down to watch Toy Story 3 (Draco had never seen it of course).

Suddenly her phone vibrated and Draco jumped, staring hard at it in surprise. Thea picked it up before throwing it back down with a noise of disgust. She knew from the picture that had appeared that it was her father. "It's just my father." She told the wide-eyed Draco. "I expect my mum's told him what's happened…"

"You didn't tell me John Dawlish was your father!" Draco finally said, both relieved and nervous at the revelation. As the daughter of an Auror, he was surprised that Thea was willing to hang around with him. "Jeez, you could've told me earlier, I've been avoiding doing magic around you all this time!" His wand was already out he pointed it at the empty fireplace until a warming fire whooshed into place.

Thea's eyes were large. "What? How did you do that?" She demanded.

Draco turned to look at her face before realising that she did not know about magic.

Thea struggled out of the duvet and stood facing Draco, looking cautiously between him and the magical fire.

"Thea...I-" Draco said hesitantly. He knew what he had to do; he had to erase her memory.

"You stay away from me!" Thea warned him as she saw his wand slowly starting to point at her.

She wasn't a stupid girl; though she had her feet firmly on the ground she was always open to supernatural explanations.

Draco's face was filled with regret. He didn't want to do it. He'd never erased the memory of someone he loved.

"Obliviate." He whispered sadly.

Thea screamed and threw herself behind the other sofa and out of his view.

The spell hit the window instead and cracked it.

Thea stayed behind the sofa for a moment, breathing harsh shallow breaths in her fear. She was open-minded and firmly believed that Draco had just done magic, not just some trick. She was trapped behind the sofa and she knew it. He was on the other side, fully armed with a stick/wand and a mindful of spells that she could never imagine.

She peeked over the top of the sofa to see Draco on his feet now, standing poised and ready with his wand out, waiting for her to emerge.

Quick as a flash Thea tried to make a run for the door to the right of the sofa she was behind, but Draco was faster.

"Petrificus totalus!"

Thea's arms and legs snapped together and she screamed internally as she began to fall face forward onto the floor, but Draco caught her and lowered her down gently before rolling her over.

Thea's breathing was irregular and her eyes stared up at Draco fearfully. She didn't know what he was going to do. She couldn't move. No matter how hard she fought she could not move an inch and that scared her; Thea had never not been in control of her own body.

Draco was kneeling by her side, leaning over her. "I'm really sorry." He said sadly, unable to look Thea in the eye. "I have to do this. I can't risk you telling other people." He whispered, finally looking Thea in the eyes. He raised his wand, but then paused, seemingly lost in thought. Your partner was allowed to know that magic existed. It was a rule at the ministry; no one could marry if their partner did not know that they were a witch or wizard. If he claimed that he planned to marry Thea in a few years; she could remain with her memory intact.

"Ok, I have a plan." He told her after a few seconds pause. "I will release you, but you can't run away...and I'm not going to hurt you!" He stated plainly. "Finite."

Draco scooted back away from Thea as she still stayed motionless for a moment before slowly sitting up.

"Look, the person you want to spend the rest of your life with is allowed to know that you're a wizard; so that is what we'll tell the ministry when there's a hearing."

"The ministry?" Thea finally asked in confusion. "Spend your life with? Tell me about this world of magic. Did you go to a school for magic? Do you have special magic food, and that's why you've never had pop corn, or hot chocolate, or coffee?"

Draco sighed and sat back on his heels. "There's so much to tell you." He said, running his hand through his hair. It was going to be a long night. "But first explain something to me. If John Dawlish is your father, why aren't you a witch?"

"No, first you tell me what you were going to do to me!" Thea said, unable to keep the accusing note out of her voice as she regarded him warily.

"I was going to wipe away the memory you had of me doing magic.." Draco said hesitantly, watching her reaction very closely.

"Can you really do that?" Thea whispered.

"We can do most things, but to take your memory would be a huge breach of trust..and I realised that you'd find out one day anyway..."

"But...if you can do that then why aren't you helping people? Why aren't you all out there wiping away the horrendous memories that soldiers have from the Afghan War? Why aren't you taking away the bad memories that abused children have? Why-"

"Because a person's experiences make them who they are! We can't change the past." Thea stood up silently and started to pace around the room. "Anyway, answer my question!"

Thea looked at him blankly.

"Your father's a wizard, so why aren't you a witch?" Thea shrugged. "Is the child of a witch or wizard always a witch or wizard?" She asked suddenly.

Draco nodded. "It's in the blood."

"Right. So then why aren't I-"

Thea was interrupted by a tapping at the cracked window. Turning and seeing an owl she could only blink very rapidly as Draco opened the window and took a letter from the owl.

Bringing it into the room it suddenly flew out of his hands and the back of it formed into a face, with mouth and eyes. Thea's mouth dropped open in astonishment as it began to speak.

"Dear Mr Malfoy. We have received news that at 9:43 pm you performed a 'petrificus totalus' charm in the presence of a muggle. You are hereby to attend a hearing on the 27th of August at 10:20 am. Hope you are well, Mafalda Hopkirk." The letter tore itself into shreds that slowly floated to the ground in front of them.

Draco ran his hand through his hair again and sighed. He hated going into the wizarding world now.

Thea warily touched one of the shredded bits of paper with her toe before jumping back, expecting it to move or speak.

"What are you doing?" Draco asked with a crooked smile on his face.

"Is it...is it alive?" Thea asked hesitantly, bending down to inspect the shreds closer.

"No." Draco threw back his head and laughed. "When are you next due to see your father?" He asked suddenly, an idea forming in his mind.

"Not till the end of September." Thea replied as she prodded the paper.

"Ok, do you want to come with me for my hearing? It's at the ministry of magic, which is where your father works so we can ask him why you're not a witch.." He suggested.

Thea nodded enthusiastically before closing the window (after checking there were no more owls arriving) and sitting back down on the sofa and pulling the duvet over her. "Come one then, tell me about your world." She said with a smile.

Draco hid his sudden misgivings with a smile. He hadn't really thought this through. He intended to spend the rest of his life with a girl who was a muggle; his parents would kill both of them and he didn't even know if she loved him back.

Thea stopped the film with the odd little box thing with buttons on it and Draco sat down, realising with dread that he'd have to tell her about his past now.


	10. Chapter 10

_I'm sorry it's been about a month since I last updated this story...I've just been reaaaally busy and that's my only excuse! We all get those few weeks where you don't stop, and if you do stop it's only to rest cause you're so exhausted from everything! Thank you to everyone who reviewed the last chapter, please do so again! It makes me happy!_

"I...I...um, I think I'd like to take a shower. Where's your bathroom?" Thea asked as she realised it was dark outside and getting late.

But more importantly, she had to get away. She'd been bombarded with only half-believable information about a world she'd only found out about 2 hours ago and now she wasn't at all sure how she felt. She needed to get away, to have a moment to herself to think a few things through, and top of the list was whether or not she felt safe with Draco.

Ever since their time in the supermarket she'd trusted him completely and come to count him as a best friend, but he'd just admitted to torturing people, to standing by whilst his family tortured and killed others. And she wasn't at all sure how she felt about that. Every moral part of her body told her to run away as fast as possible; but other parts of her body that were unidentifiable told her to stay. And furthermore; she had nowhere to run to.

"You've got an en suite in your room. I'll show you." Draco said, putting down his glass of some kind of wizard-whisky that a scary, dirty elf-thing had brought him and standing up.

By Thea's calculating, her room was only a few doors down from Draco's and only very slightly smaller. The room was still bigger than any of those in her old home despite this, and her en suite was the size of her old bedroom.

"What colour walls do you want?" Draco asked, making Thea jump slightly as she stared dumbfounded at the room.

"Erm..I really don't mind. It's fine as it is..."

Draco rolled his eyes with a half smile and took out his wand. He gazed at her intently for a moment with calculating eyes and Thea watched him warily, though as he caught her eye she tried to smile reassuringly. With a flick of his wrist the walls turned cream and the ornaments and bed-sheets turned pastel blue.

Thea's couldn't help herself as her smile turned real at the personalised room.

"Wardrobe?"

"Pastel pink." Thea replied quickly to his demand as he went around her room, pointing at objects and making them any colour she wanted.

"Call if you need me." He said before closing her door behind him.

Thea quickly walked into the en suite and ran the taps, quickly investigating the contents of the cupboards and doing a general search of the room. She wasn't entirely sure what she was looking for; some sign of magic? Something from Draco's past?

Finding nothing she finally stripped off her clothes and climbed in, feeling her tense muscles gradually relax in the hot water.

She ended up thinking through nothing; instead Draco's stories and explanations of the magical world swam round and round her head as she tried to remember each detail he'd told her. Like the fact that unicorns and dragons exist. And that it's possible to fly on a broom.

Taking a deep breath in she sunk completely underneath the water and suddenly remembered her mother again; what Draco had told her had completely eclipsed everything else that'd happened that day.

Coming up for air she wiped a wet hand over her face and blinked her eyes rapidly as water dripped into them.

She suddenly resolved not to think about the day or question whether she felt safe with Draco yet; for now she needed somewhere to stay and he had provided her with free accommodation, an en suite and free food. And besides, she wanted to find out more about his world.

Draco meanwhile was back downstairs, staring blindly at the T.V. He'd seen the look in Thea's eyes; he'd actually anticipated it as he was telling her about the awful things he'd done.

"Bonet." He called out. The Malfoy's one remaining house-elf popped into the room with a loud crack and bowed low to Draco. "Ask Thea what she wants for dinner; make her whatever she wants."

"Yes, Master." The elf replied in his high-pitched voice before disappearing with a crack.

A moment later Draco jumped as he heard a high-pitched scream that was so loud it carried throughout the whole mansion.

He gave a slight snort of laughter as he remembered Thea was taking a shower; Bonet must have appeared whilst she was still in it.

Standing up he apparated into her room just as she came flying out of the bathroom, a towel hurriedly wrapped around her still-wet body.

"I'm so sorry-" He started, trying o hide a grin and averting his gaze as she wrapped the towel more firmly around herself.

"How the hell did it get in there? I was just-"

"I'm sorry, Master." Bonet's high voice came over Thea's.

"It's ok, Bonet, you did exactly as I told you."

Thea's eyes widened in alarm at his words. "You asked him to walk in on me whilst I was naked in the bath?"

"No...no, I told him to find you and ask you what you wanted for dinner. I forgot you were in the bathroom..."

"Right...right..." Thea said, trying to calm her heart. "Well, for dinner I'd like whatever's being cooked-"

"Bonet will cook what you want; you're choosing dinner..." Draco said, indicating Bonet who nodded earnestly.

"Fine...then how about spaghetti carbonara?" Draco wrinkled his nose and Bonet merely looked confused. Thea's gaze flicked between their faces before she gave a sigh. "You don't know what that is, do you?"

"Bonet will find it!" The house-elf declared before disappearing with a crack that made Thea jump.

"Can I get back to my bath now?" Thea asked with a half-smile, bemused by the whole situation.

Draco gestured for her to continue and disappeared himself with a pop; making Thea jump once again.

She finished quickly and stepping out of the bathroom, she called Draco's name hesitantly, still jumping as he appeared in her room with a pop.

"How do you do that?" She demanded.

"What, appear?"

"No, hear me call you..."

"Oh, sensor charm all over the house."

Thea blinked a few times before shaking her head gently and moving on. "Can I make a rule?"

Draco made a face at her before nodding.

"Neither you, nor Bonet are allowed to just appear in my room or bathroom unless I call you..."

"Ok. I'll tell him when he serves dinner." Draco replied instantly before getting up and going over to her window which showed the street in the distance. "What stuff do you want from your room?"

"Erm, clothes, fairy-lights, laptop, chargers, make-up, bags, shoes, teddy-bears, hair-care, skin-care..."

"Whoooaaa, ok, what thing's do you want from your room? One at a time.." Draco said with a laugh; he'd forgotten how many things girls needed.

"Clothes." Thea said firmly, ruefully clutching her towel tighter around herself and drying her hair with another.

"Come and watch this." Draco said eagerly, holding out a hand to her. Walking towards him he placed his arm around her bare shoulders and positioned her at the window so she could see her house. Both tried and failed to keep their breathing normal and appear unfazed by the contact.

With a tap from his wand the french window's flew open, a cool blast of air making Thea shudder.

"Accio Thea's clothes." Draco said from above Thea's head, pointing his wand around her body and at her house.

A thudding heartbeat passed before Thea's clothes appeared, zooming quickly towards the two. Thea's mouth dropped open moments before the mass of clothes crashed into the two, pushing them both over with a few yells and screams of laughter.

Draco pulled the giggling Thea up and pointed his wand again, making the clothes separate into different piles and fold into different cupboards or hang up in the wardrobe.

Thea laughed with delight and pulled open a drawer that'd just closed, looking at her perfectly stored clothes. Running back to the window her make-up next appeared, flying through the air. This time Draco steered them carefully through the window and onto her dressing-table.

"What next?" He asked with a smile.


	11. Chapter 11

_Woooooow it's been a while since I last updated...I'm sorry! But here is a chapter of average length to make up for it...thank you to everyone who reviewed; it made me soooo happy! Please do so again everyone! Enjoy!_

Bonet bustled around the huge kitchen, making their dinner. Thea had become accustomed to his presence and subservient way, even going so far as to give him a definite answer when he asked what she wanted for dinner without feeling bad.

The kitchen was underground and very old fashioned with torches lining the walls and providing the only light. A huge Aga cooker took up on corner, with the rest of the walls covered in cupboards and sideboards. A fire flickered directly opposite Thea who sat at the wooden table in the middle of the kitchen, staring at the newspaper, enthralled as to how the pictures could move. After a very long time of staring and touching the paper to see if it was any thicker than a normal paper, she began to read the articles, pausing every few seconds as she encountered words she didn't understand.

Other than staring at the moving pictures she was not really concentrating on the paper for Draco had asked her the night before to think of some designs for the mansion and its grounds; something that would 'lighten it up' he had said, noticing for the first time how dark and dismal his house had become during the war.

French-style designs were running through her mind of cream and pastel colours, but realistically she knew Draco wouldn't like that all over the house.

"Bonet, what do you think of red and cream in the living room?" She finally asked, making the elf jump a little and almost spill the saucepan of water he was carrying from the sink to the Aga.

"I like it very much, Miss, but I'm afraid Master Draco won't; he can't abide red or yellow; they're the colours of the Gryffindor house, you see..." He explained, beginning to drop chopped carrots into the water.

"Oh, right, and Gryffindor is the house that Harry Potter and everyone were in, isn't it?" She checked, seeing Bonet nod.

She gave up on her designs for a moment and instead concentrated on the paper, stopping at the second page as something caught her eye. It was about Draco's parents; he had neglected to tell her what'd happened to them after Voldemort's defeat, but here were pictures of them looking drawn, tired and thin. She knew it was them from the family portrait that had been hung in their living room but Draco had removed when Thea first began to come to his house, realising that his father's wand was visible.

"Draco?" She called out. He came and stood in the doorway of the kitchen, leaning against its frame. "Have you seen today's paper?"

"No; I looked for it but thought that you must be reading it...as I can see you are."

"Maybe you should read it first." She said, pulling out the chair next to her and moving the paper over a little.

A look of something washed over his face, but he quickly schooled his expression and sat down next to her, automatically focusing on the photo of his parents. He read it in silence, only his eyes moving from side to side.

Thea watched his face anxiously, her eyes following him when he stood with a sigh.

"Well, that's that then." He said, giving his shoulders a little shrug.

She spun the paper around and began to read it again, frowning as she struggled to remember what all of the strange words meant. What was Azkaban again?

"What does it say?" She finally asked in resignation.

"It says my father has been sentenced to the remainder of his life in Azkaban, and my mother to 10 years." He replied, absentmindedly staring into the flickering fire.

"For the things they did last year?"

Draco shook his head slowly, turning o face her and rubbing a hand over his jaw. ""For things they've done ever since Voldemort first came into power before I was even born. I should be on that page too; but my mother promised to give them anything they wanted in exchange for my freedom."

"But you said that your parents were abroad." Thea said in confusion, remembering their conversation in the ruined supermarket (that had since been rebuilt) when he had told her that none of his family would be waiting outside for him.

"They are. Azkaban is an island in the North Sea. All deatheaters were held there before their trials. Even I spent a week there before my mother negotiated me out."

"Do you want to see your parents?" Thea asked curiously, trying not to be too nosey about a subject that was obviously upsetting for Draco.

He nodded and gave a rueful little smile. "Everyone else may say they're bad people and I know they did horrific things, but at the end of the day they loved me more than anything; that means they can't be all bad, right?"

Thea nodded in agreement. But all the same, she was glad they were now gone for a long time. The stories Draco had told her about the things they'd done to muggles frightened her.

"I don't like to leave you like this; but I have to go to my ballet class." She said, standing up and giving him a tight hug around the waist.

"It's ok." He said with a small smile, hugging her back. "I'm going to apply to the Ministry for a prison visit. They won't grant it, but I may as well try. We need to go food shopping after that, shall I meet you at the studio?"

Thea nodded and quickly ran through the mansion and up the stairs, putting her leotard and tights on underneath her normal clothes and pulling her hair up into a bun.

"See you later." She shouted out as she trotted down the stairs and out of the door.

She heard him call something back, but the closing door shut off the end of his unintelligible words.

She walked quickly down the driveway, pulling open the heavy gate with much more difficulty than Draco. He had changed the spells binding it so that now only he and Thea were the ones who could open it manually.

Despite the deep shadows it cast, Thea rather liked the grand entrance the tall hedges created as you walked up to the gate from the street.

"Thea?" A voice called out when she stepped into the sunlight of the street. Thea quickened her step without even looking over her shoulder at the person. She knew who it was; her mother. "Thea, wait!" She called out, running after her.

"Leave me alone." Thea snarled, ignoring the stares of a passing couple on the other side of the road.

"You have to talk to me sometime!" Her mother said, her heels clacking on the pavement.

"No I don't. There is nothing I want from you." Thea replied obstinately, wondering if she could vault over the fence and run through people's gardens where her mother would be unable to follow her.

"I am your mother; you're only 16 and I want to know what's going on with you and that boy!"

Thea whirled around and glared at her, making her stop in her tracks.

"_That boy _is providing for me like you never could! I have everything I want from him, and to top it all, with him I have the kind of stability that you could never give me; not with all your affairs and changing of husbands!" She shot at her furiously.

"Stability! He's what...18? How can _he _give you stability; in a few months he'll have grown out of you and then where will you be? You're lucky he's even put up with you for a month and - "

"No!" Thea cut in. "_He's_ lucky that _I've_ stayed a month. Isn't that what you always said, _Mother, _that I'm not the one who's been graced, everyone else is simply lucky I'm in their lives?"

Her mum was silent for a moment, unsure how she could retort to that.

"Well I'm afraid your luck has run out; I'm happy with Draco and he's happy with me, so with him is where I'll be staying and you are no longer a part of my life." Thea said, turning around and walking speedily off, her head held high and her blood pumping furiously.

"Thea, come back here!" Her mum shouted after her, but Thea ignored her, instead thinking of some things she and Draco could buy when they went shopping later; some more normal food that he'd never tried.


	12. Chapter 12

_I'm sorry I've left an update so long! But you all know how it is...it's been exam season and stuff and I had to put my academics first for a while...but its summer now! So I'm freeeeeeeee to write stories! Although having said that, I am pretty busy with holidays and stuff so updates may not be as regular as we'd all like! Sorry! But anyway, thank you to those who reviewed the last chapter, you should definitely all review this one too! Enjoy!_

Thea and Sophie danced across the hall together, each doing exactly the same movements in time and in exactly the same outfit; black leotard, pale tights and ballet shoes. Their hair was scraped off their faces in simple buns and they both had exactly the same fake, beaming smile plastered on their faces.

"Good, Thea! Come on, Sophie, point those toes!" Miss Ruth, the dance teacher, called out over the music.

Draco sat down on one of the wooden benches lining the left side of the hall to watch as another pair of girls did the same exercise as Thea and Sophie had done across the hall. At the front, the two girls sat down on the edge of the stage and Thea smiled and gave him a small wave which he returned.

"I can't believe you're living with him!" Sophie said, her voice overwhelmed by the music to all but Thea.

"I can't believe I'm happier with him than I've ever been...2 months ago I hated his guts." Thea responded, looking at the floor and hoping Draco couldn't tell that they were talking about him.

"Ellie said you turned up with him at the South London competition. Is that true?" Sophie probed, a little annoyed that Thea no longer spent as much time with her as she used to.

Thea nodded. "I'm doing everything with him. He paid for us to get to London, he pays for all my dance classes, school stuff, food, clothes...everything!"

"Holy shit!" Sophie exclaimed incredulously. "Is he really that rich? Jesus, Thea, you've found yourself a sugar daddy!"

"Come on, girls, you should know this by now!" Miss Ruth screeched at the couple of unfortunate girls who were taking their turn at the exercise.

"I don't think you can say sugar daddy when they're only a year older...and besides, it's not like we're having sex, we're just friends." Thea said with a small laugh.

"Yeah but you know he wants more." Sophie insisted, subtly glancing at Draco.

"No he doesn't!"

"Of course he does, Thea, he's a guy! They always want more! Don't be so naive!"

"Thea! Go again! Show everyone what a Grande Alegro should look like!" Miss Ruth called, making Thea jump in surprise. She quickly recovered and ran to the bottom of the hall; she was used to this, Miss Ruth was passed her dancing days what with her dodgy hip and knees, so as Thea was the quickest learner, she was made to remind the class what an exercise should look like.

She pointed her toe behind her and held her arms in second position in preparation before jumping her way gracefully across the stage.

"Good! Now, everyone, again!" Miss Ruth screeched, putting the music back to the beginning.

3 minutes later the class finally did an elaborate curtsey and were dismissed. "I expect you all to know your Grande Allegro and Rande De Jambe by next week! Thea, Eleanor, bring your pointe shoes and music; I'll see your solo's after class in preparation for the South of England competition."

Thea, Sophie and Jenny ambled towards the back of the hall. "Just let me get changed." Thea said to Draco as she passed him on the way.

He nodded and followed the three girls out, waiting outside of the hall whilst Thea's class changed and the next class began their lesson.

"Anyway, why don't his parents kick you out? Surely they don't approve of it all?" Sophie questioned further in the changing room.

"It's complicated." Thea muttered uncomfortably, beginning to unpin her hair.

"How can it be complicated? They're paying for you to exist! Surely - "

"Oh, just leave it, Sophie!" Thea suddenly insisted, snatching up her clothes and charging into one of the toilets to change.

She sat down on the toilet seat with a small sigh and realised how reckless she'd been; she'd seriously expected people to simply accept that she was now living with a boy she'd previously hated and that there was nothing odd about it. She changed slowly and was relieved to find most of her class, including Sophie, had already left by the time she emerged.

She bade goodbye to the remaining three girls and met Draco outside, beginning to lead the way towards town.

"We, um, we need to come up with a background story I can tell my friends..." She explained, looking at the floor and feeling a little embarrassed at what she was saying. "Some of them are beginning to ask questions about the nature of our relationship, and we need to both know the story just in case we ever say different things..."

"Ok." Draco said simply, feeling just as uncomfortable at her mention of the word 'relationship'. "When we get home we can figure it all out and write down specific details so we can check if we ever forget." Thea smiled at him gratefully in response. "Now, did you say you need new shoes for school?"

The two bought Thea a few odds and ends before making their way to the nearest supermarket.

"So, what are you going to do now you've left school?" Thea asked Draco as they meandered back home along the high street. "I'm going to guess you have some big family business to go into that earns you all your money...?"

Draco nodded and switched the bags he'd offered to carry into his other hand. "I get a long summer till Christmas, then I have to start working like a grown man." He said, unable to keep the bitter tone out of his voice.

"What is the business?"

"My father owns a lot of land, so he gets rent, he's got shares in about 5 businesses and some stuff overseas that I need to manage."

"What would you have done if you didn't have to go into the business?"

"I never really thought about it because I knew it wouldn't happen." He finally said before stopping stock still.

"Malfoy." A ginger-headed boy who'd also stopped right in front of them said with venom in his voice. He was tall; at least as tall as Draco but he was of a much bigger build. He was with a girl who had unbelievably curly hair and a worried look on her face. Like Draco, the ginger boy carried shopping bags that were clearly the girls.

"Weasley. Granger." Draco finally said stiffly.

"What are you doing here?" The ginger one asked in the same tone of voice, narrowing his eyes at Draco menacingly. "Come to terrorise more innocent muggles?" He finally snarled.

"Draco? Who are these people?" Thea asked sharply as she recognised their faces and realised they must be from Draco's world if they knew about 'muggles'. She looked up at his face and saw the strange expression of fear and hate that he wore.

Draco didn't answer her and she suddenly became aware of the two newcomers staring at her with wide eyes.

"A muggle?" The ginger boy demanded suddenly. "Get away from her!" He strode forwards urgently; genuine concern clear in his eyes as he reached for Thea's arm, but Draco pulled her behind his back and out of the other boy's sight. "What kind of sick revenge are you planning?"

"I'm not planning anything." He hissed. "Thea's my friend."

"Draco Malfoy, friends with a muggle? I don't think so!" The ginger boy insisted, almost nose to nose with Draco.

"Ron, that's enough!" The curly haired girl suddenly said, pulling him back and away from Draco. Passerby's stared at the four strangely, some muttering complaints about selfish people who stopped and blocked the whole path.

"Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger." Thea whispered, finally remembering them from Draco's stories and newspaper articles. Hermione lowered her voice with a fervent look in Thea's direction, but the younger girl still heard her.

"You know the ministry found no harmful intentions in him when they examined him!" Hermione whispered, her gaze flicking worriedly between Draco and Thea.

"Do speak up." Draco spat. "Thea knows all about us. I've told her everything."

Ron was still looking at Draco with hatred in his eyes and he too continuously darted Thea cautious looks.

"Do you have a hearing?" Hermione asked timidly.

Draco nodded after a pause. Thea could feel his reluctance to speak to these people. "August." Thea stared hard at Hermione. Draco had never mentioned she was pretty. With a bare face she had looks that the majority of girls would envy; clear skin, big eyes and a slim body.

"We'll be there." Ron shot back automatically, breaking Thea's concentration on Hermione.

"Who invited you?" Draco snarled.

"Are you alright?" Ron replied, looking at Thea instead of Draco. "Take it from me; you're not safe with him. Get as far away as possible before you end up dead."

Thea was speechless at his words, but Hermione did all the talking that was necessary, berating Ron for his continuing prejudice when Draco had been proven to be harmless.

"She knows everything about my past and she's accepted that I'm not that person anymore." Draco explained haltingly.

"Really? You told her every tiny thing you did as a Death Eater? Has she seen your dark mark?" Ron questioned violently. "I thought not." He said, seeing Draco's face freeze in response to his words.

Thea looked up at his face in confusion. What was a dark mark?

"Why don't you show her?" Ron pushed further, his eyes narrowed with hate. Thea was a little alarmed at the looks Draco and Ron were exchanging, she had never seen so much hate in real life.

"I don't want to." Draco said stubbornly, holding his head high.

"She deserves to know exactly what she's getting in to by going within 100 feet of you!"

"She doesn't need to see it. I've told her everything I did. I don't want to scare her." Draco said, speaking so quickly he was almost tripping over the words.

"You think a tattoo will scare her more than the knowledge that she's risking her life with you?" Ron gave a forced, incredulous laugh.

"That's enough!" Hermione suddenly intervened. "Ron, come on. Come on, Ron!" She insisted, pulling him away back down the street the way they'd just come.

"What's a dark mark?" Thea finally asked quietly.

Draco sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "I'm sorry, Thea, I didn't want to deceive you, but I hate the damn thing! I'll show you when we get home."

Thea swallowed and nodded, allowing him to lead her in the same direction as Ron and Hermione, but at a safe distance behind them.


	13. Chapter 13

_Ok, sorry I haven't updated in a while! Let me know what you all think of this chapter! So, who's seen Deathly Hallows Part 2? I saw it the other day...what did you all think? My friends and I are all so divided on our opinions of it! Thanks to everyone who reviewed last time, please do so again! Enjoy!_

"What? Eurgh!" Thea moaned, banging her head down on the table in frustration. Sitting up she ran her hand through her hair and squeezed her eyes shut momentarily. "I don't suppose you can explain moles to me, can you?" She asked Draco.

"Yeah, they're the things you get on your skin - "

"No, I mean the calculations in chemistry."

"I don't even know what chemistry is..." He explained, shaking his head regretfully.

Thea had almost finished her GCSE's and was far more stressed than he had ever thought she would be. She had commandeered the living room, the table in the kitchen and the dining room as her places to study and snapped at anyone who disturbed her.

She groaned again at his answer and practically died on the table, missing the fleeting glance of relief that passed across Draco's face.

He had removed the concealment charm from the dark mark on his arm; when Voldemort had been alive he had been so powerful the mark could not be hidden by anything magical or even by muggle means, but now that he was dead the mark could be concealed, but never removed.

He had finally plucked up the courage to show it to Thea, but she was far too stressed to handle any other problems. It had taken him so long because he had come to realise that he was quite possibly in love with her, and he didn't want to scare her off with the mark that would forever be on his arm.

They had been living together for almost 4 months now, and though their relationship remained strictly friendly with nothing sexual involved, he was so attracted to her that he sometimes had to leave the room they were both in to stop himself confessing his feelings.

"Perhaps you should take a break." He suggested tentatively, remembering how hard revising had been for his own exams, though the topics he had studied seemed to have been easier than Thea's. Only yesterday she'd had an examination in maths and had spent hours studying the thickest book he had ever seen.

"I don't have time to take a break!" She replied, almost in tears from the stress of it all. He backed away at her sudden mood swing and regarded her warily, hoping that this was the worst she would ever get, otherwise the rest of his life with her that he'd been dreaming about was going to be a bit more of a struggle than he had anticipated. "Sorry." She apologised, holding her head in her hands and taking a deep breath. "Perhaps your right; a 15 minute break can't do too much damage." She said wearily, getting up and refilling her glass with cold water.

"Exam leave is really just an excuse to eat junk food and dress like a tramp." She joked, picking up one of Bonet's brownies. She had been awake since 6, trying to memorise chemical equations and what metals reacted with what acids. It was now only 10 o'clock and she had eaten over half of a plate of brownies that Bonet had made only the night before.

"My offer still stands; I can help you with magic. It was different for us, precautions were taken to make sure no-one could cheat with magic, but no-one will suspect it at your school..." He suggested, watching the sunlight from the window above the sink play on her hair, casting slight shadows over her face.

"It's so, so tempting, but no thanks. I'm going to do this by myself – whether I pass or fail, at least I'll be able to claim the credit for it!" She replied with a tight smile.

"Fair enough." He said simply, realising that what he had taken to be shadows caused by the sunlight underneath her eyes were actually caused by a lack of sleep.

"Today's paper, Sir." Draco jumped slightly at Bonet's intervention and thanked the elf, taking the paper and tucking it underneath his arm he leant against the kitchen doorway. "I've just been on your laptop and I _think_ I ordered you a treadmill...that was the one you wanted, wasn't it?"

Thea face broke into a huge grin for the first time in days. "Yes, thank you!" She exclaimed happily, putting her water down and rushing across the room to give him a tight hug. His breath hitched and he fought to make it sound normal, hugging her tightly back.

"Jesus, you're strong." She teased, rubbing the base of her ribs where they hurt slightly from the tightness of his hug.

"Sorry." He replied, hiding his embarrassment by picking up the newspaper that had fallen to the floor. "How long does your post take?"

"It'll be delivered to us...I would've thought a maximum of 5 days." She mused, taking a sip of water. "One of us will need to be in to take the delivery...they ask for signatures and things..."

"Brilliant. Well, tell me what to do when it gets here and I'll sort it out. Did you say geography is your last exam?"

"Mmm." She nodded, taking another sip of water and filling up the glass again. "It's chemistry this afternoon and then geography's the day after tomorrow."

"Morning or afternoon?"

"Morning."

"Oh good, do you want to go out in the afternoon then? Celebrate?" He asked, feigning nonchalance but feeling his heart beating strongly the whole time.

"Oh...I'd love to, Draco." She said hesitantly, an apologetic look on her face. "But honestly, I think I'd rather just sleep and let myself relax for the first time in months..." She exclaimed, biting her lip almost nervously.

Draco forced himself to stop staring at her and shook her head slightly. "It's fine." He was disappointed but he let it slide; whatever she wanted. "I'll get Bonet to make a special dinner for you." He said with a smile, flipping open the paper as she sat back down at the table, starting her work again.

His smile froze at the headline and faces that glared up from the front page at him.

Azkaban breakout. The Carrows.

Whilst Draco had never been at Hogwarts whilst the siblings had 'taught' there, he knew them well enough from within the deatheater circle to know that they were bad news; just like all other deatheaters.

"What's wrong?"

Draco jumped at Thea's voice and immediately clutched the paper to himself worriedly, concealing the headline and faces, but she had already looked away and was mumbling something under her breath again and again.

"Nothing." He said after a long pause.

"Are you sure? You looked pretty shocked..." She checked, glancing up at him quickly and seeing how his expression had changed.

"An old school acquaintance is on the front page; I'd forgotten they even exist until just now." He explained after a pause as long as the first one.

"Oh." She replied disinterestedly. Draco knew she didn't mean to be rude; she just had too much on her mind to think of anything but her two remaining exams.

He walked out of the kitchen quickly and flopped down on the sofa, reading with horror about the breakout from Azkaban.

The Carrows, Selwyn and Goyles father had all escaped in the same night.

Draco jumped back up and began to pace the room, his mind whirring frantically.

His movement were being monitored by the Ministry, and with the breakout all of the remaining deatheaters and associates of the escaped deatheaters would be watched even more carefully, but Goyle is particular was stupid, like his son, and there was a small possibility that he'd come to Malfoy manor looking for shelter. If that happened then Thea would be in danger.

Making a split decision he picked up the paper, tucked it back under his arm and, taking a pinch of floo powder, disappeared to Blaise Zabini's house.

Zabini was relaxing on his sofa, reading a book and looking at Draco with mild surprise when Draco was able to focus on him.

"Long time no see, my friend." He said, sitting up and discarding the book.

"Have you seen the paper?" Draco demanded, holding the paper out too him and too worried to bother with niceties.

Blaise read the article quickly, nodding as his eyes travelled down the lines. "They obviously need to up the security in that place, honestly, how many times have people escaped now? I swear it's supposed to be inescapable..."

"What if any of them come to me, Blaise?" Draco was pacing Blaise's room now, looking out of the window furtively almost as though he expected to see the Carrows running down the street.

"So what if they do? They'll have to go home and you'll have to account for what happened." Blaise replied, frowning at Draco's behaviour; this was not the rational boy he knew.

"It's not just that!" Draco exclaimed, running his hands through his hair worriedly. He had told no-one about Thea – only Granger and Weasley knew from their chance encounter. "I have a problem Blaise, and I need your honest opinion." He started. Blaise remained silent, waiting for him to continue. Draco stopped and sat down on the sofa next to him, rubbing his hands worriedly together. "I'm in love with someone who is not pure blood, and who seems to have magical blood in her and yet is not a witch and before she met me had not even heard of our world." He explained hesitantly.

"And? You have not asked me anything." Blaise prompted after another long pause.

"I don't know what the right question to ask is." Draco admitted, suddenly unsure of how he felt about his love for Thea.

"I think you are taking a risk bigger than you can imagine." Blaise said emphatically, trying to break it to Draco gently and in the right words that would make his friend see sense. "And you are risking her life too."

"I know, but I can't give her up!" Draco protested, jumping back up and beginning to pace again, his hands pulling at his hair. "I know love is supposed to be selfless, but I feel like I'll die if I let her go. I just can't." He explained, realising for the first time just how deep his feelings for Thea were and realising that it terrified him.


	14. Chapter 14

_Sorry it's been a while since I last updated, but on the other hand this is a fairly long chapter by my standards! Thank you to everyone who reviewed the last chapter, please do so again! Enjoy!_

"Thea?" Draco asked quietly, coming to a halt in the living room doorway. She lay underneath her duvet on the sofa, the TV turned on in front of her but her eyes closed. They fluttered open tiredly and Draco walked hesitantly into the room. "I know that you just want to rest, but there's something I need to show you."

"What is it?" She asked worriedly, clearing her throat and lifting her head from the sofa.

"It's like a tattoo; it's called a dark mark." He explained quietly. It'd been months since the war had ended and yet he still hated talking about it.

"Oh, the thing that ginger boy was talking about! I'd forgotten all about it." She declared, wriggling on the sofa and pulling herself up. She pushed her hair out of her face and sat with her legs crossed underneath the duvet, one hand reaching for him.

Draco fleetingly thought about how he may have been able to get away with never showing it to her, but he quickly realised that he wanted to; he wanted to show her the worst of himself that remained because he knew that if she could accept it and move on, they could have a future together.

He quickly closed the short distance between them and sat down on the sofa next to her, several inches higher than normal because of her crumpled duvet.

He pulled his sleeve up to his elbow and presented his arm to her, wrist towards her so that it was clearly visible.

She took his arm between her hands and pulled it closer to herself, making him bend forwards slightly. She simply stared at it for a while before stroking it gently with her right thumb.

Draco tried his best to suppress a shiver at her light touch and felt the hairs rise on the back of his neck. Suddenly very aware of his beating heart he tried to quieten his breathing, afraid that it would give his feelings away or she that would mistake what he felt for her as simple lust.

"It's not as scary as I expected..." She finally mused, pressing it a little harder with the tip of her finger.

"That's because it doesn't mean anything to you...in the wizarding world this was the ultimate symbol of fear; of something unpredictable and unstoppable...of course it no longer holds any power, but people still flinch when they see it because it brings back so many memories they'd rather forget."

"And what about your memories?" She asked at length, staring into his eyes almost hesitantly, unsure whether or not he'd want to discuss his feelings about something that had left a scar on his entire world.

"What about them?" He asked, a little defensively.

"Does this tattoo give you memories you'd rather forget?" She pushed despite sensing his walls rising.

"Of course. But it's my duty – no, my punishment – to constantly be reminded of what I did." He answered, breaking his eye contact with her and pulling his arm out of her grip so that he could rest his elbows on his knees.

"Do you truly believe that suffering now will achieve anything?" She asked gently, unable to see into his eyes now that he'd moved.

"No, but I'm not trying to achieve anything."

There was a silence between the two as Thea struggled to come up with a convincing response.

"Anyway, this is far too heavy for someone who's just finished their exams! Come on, I want to show you a serious upside to being a wizard..." He said, jumping up with a deliberately bright face and holding a hand out to her.

Taking it she let him pull her up, trying to make her own face as bright as his.

"What is it?" She asked, unable to hide that she was quite excited.

"Guess." He replied with a smirk, knowing full well that she'd never get it.

"Oh, you know I can't! There's just too much to guess from!" She protested; this had happened a few weeks ago when he'd asked her to guess what flavours she thought would be included in Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans.

"Guess anyway, it amuses me." He pushed, already finding it funny. He was going to blow her mind with his surprise.

"Ok, can you...talk to animals?" She finally guessed.

"No...not unless you're born with the gift...it's pretty rare..."

"Ok, can you...for-see my exam results?"

"No." He replied a little reluctantly, although his brain was already racing forwards and planning how he could get hold of them. "Although I could probably find out your results really quickly for you if - "

"No! I just wondered if you could, I never said I wanted you to!" She interrupted instantly, already worrying about her results despite having months to wait before she'd know their outcome.

"Ok, enough guessing!" He suddenly declared as they stepped out of the house and onto the gravel drive-way. "So, today, I'm going to take you for a ride..."

"Oh, in what?" She demanded, her bright eyes reminding him of an eager child who'd been promised ice cream.

"Not _in_ what..._on_ what!" He corrected her with a smirk. "Accio broom!"

It took Thea a moment to realise that he was talking about riding a broomstick. Her mouth dropped open when a broomstick flew out of the mansion through an open window and soared straight into Draco's hand.

The wooden handle was both glossy and dull with two types of wood twining together. The end of it was truly old fashioned; nothing like the brooms used for cleaning in modern days. At the end just before the brush two prongs of metal curled out on either side, clearly meant for the users feet.

"I thought it was only witches who used brooms." She finally managed to stutter.

"No." Draco said simply.

Thea gave a little scream of excitement and jumped up and down. She was about to ride a broomstick. She'd dressed up as a witch until she was 12 at Halloween, and here she was now about to genuinely ride a broomstick rather than carry it around and pretend to as she used to.

"We don't need those." He said, pulling off the metal prongs. "They're only for used in sports." He stepped over the handle and slid backwards slightly, indicating for her to get on in front of him.

A tiny flicker of doubt crossed her mind; would that small broom be able to take both their weight? But she quickly pushed the question to the back of her mind; Draco's world was magical; anything and everything was possible!

She carefully lifted one leg over and held on a little uncertainly.

"Come back a bit, bit more, bit more..." He encouraged until she was pressed up against him. She tensed, very aware of how close they were and was grateful that her back was to him and he could not see her gradually pinking cheeks. His arms came around her body and took hold of the broom handle in front of her. "Alright, now whatever you do don't panic and start kicking or something or we'll go out of control...don't worry about falling; I'll catch you and just tell me what you want me to do once we're up in the air!"

Thea nodded, her heart racing at what was about to happen. Her hands were gripped firmly on the broom handle just slightly higher up than Draco's. She noticed the word 'Firebolt' engraved in gold in the side of the very top of the handle and she ran her thumb over it quickly before clamping her hand back down.

"Hold on." He warned, waiting for just a second before kicking off from the ground.

Thea screamed at the sudden lurch and was forced to duck down against the broom by the force. She righted herself quickly and looked down, laughing with hysterical delight as she saw that the garden below them was getting smaller. Soon she could even see the top of the mansion that had been behind them when they'd started off.

Draco brought the broom to a smooth halt when they were well in the air, high enough that the two could see over all of the neighbouring houses and onto the next street, and the street after that, and the one after that.

She hesitantly let go of the broom and held her arms out in a true Kate Winslet moment, still laughing hysterically. Draco was chuckling behind her at her response; he'd known she'd love it.

"Going down." Draco suddenly said. Without even thinking Thea clamped her hands back onto the broom and Draco sent them into a nose dive that had Thea screaming for all she was worth, certain that they were going to plummet face first into the gravel but also knowing that she was completely safe. It was like a rollercoaster – terrifying and exhilarating but completely safe.

Draco pulled them out of the nose dive well in time and instead sent them swooping over the house. He knew Thea was enjoying herself despite all her screaming and they began to do loop-the-loops, spiralling all around the gardens haphazardly.

One of the water fountains in the garden was of two nymphs, their hands pressed together above their heads in their dance and Draco steered the broom right through the middle of them. It was such a tight squeeze the two had to duck and tuck their toes up, but he was an expert flyer and they both emerged without having touched any part of the fountain.

Next Draco took them over the wood; Felicity had never got any further than this on her exploration of the grounds. She had tried to make her way through the trees for a while but then had given up, unable to find a path and worried that she'd be unable to find her way back.

She stared down at the tops of the trees, seeing them flashing past beneath them, but all too soon the trees disappeared and were replaced by a lake.

She gave a gasp of surprise and wonder; she hadn't even known Draco had a lake! The sun was setting over the trees in the distance and reflected beautifully on the water. For a fleeting moment she wondered exactly how rich he was that he could afford not only a mansion but also grounds that were as large as a forest and still have any material items he wanted. But she quickly pushed this from her mind and concentrated on the here and now, wanting to enjoy every second of her first broomstick ride.

"It's like a dream." She whispered, entranced by the view.

Draco flew lower over the water until they were speeding just above it. The water was so still there was no indication from it that they were moving at all.

"Tuck your feet up." He commanded her. They both did so and he flew still lower until they were less than a foot above the water.

Thea had the sudden urge to put her hand in water, almost as though she expected water to feel different when you were on a broomstick. Bending forward carefully she let the tip of her right index finger trail in the water, smiling with delight as the water pushed forcefully against her nail before spraying up into the air.

With great regret Draco pulled them up higher and turned them around; it was time to get back for dinner, but first he did all sorts of tricks on their returning journey. Thea's screams had turned to whoops of joy as she grew a little more used to it and Draco laughed, already making plans for teaching her how to fly.

Setting them gently down on the ground he helped Thea off, but as soon as he let her go she collapsed on the gravel, her body completely shaken from her experience.

Worried, he hurried to her side, but when he pulled her up she was still giggling hysterically.

"You alright?" He asked with a smile, putting an arm around her shoulders and practically carrying her as she sagged against him, a little dazed.

She nodded in a way that reminded Draco of how happy drunk's behave and he laughed more at her, shaking his head incredulously. He'd never seen anyone react like that after their first broom ride. But then again most people only hovered 2 feet off the ground on their first go.

"Come on." He finally said, pulling her back into the house through the kitchen door.

Bonet fused around Thea when she was dragged in, but Draco reassured him and guided a recovering Thea to her chair.

"I take it you enjoyed it then?"

She nodded enthusiastically and Draco smiled at her, realising that they'd covered a lot today; flying and his dark mark; they were making fast progress. But he realised with a jolt that soon he'd have to admit his feelings for her; his hearing was only a few months away and he'd have to declare to the ministry that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her and prove somehow that his feelings were sincere.

She looked up from her plate at him questioningly and he smiled. "Just wondering how on earth you still have a voice after all that screaming!"


End file.
